The Mighty Fall
by emptyonideas
Summary: "It's just hard, don't you think?" Riley asked. "What, being so attractive?" Stiles joked. "No. Being so...human." Stiles/OC
1. Chapter 1

**"Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure."**

**-Irving Wallace**

* * *

"I'm going to kill him."

Riley looked at her mother, and then down to her mother's hands which had grown white from gripping the steering wheel. Their car wasn't new by any definition, and Riley was afraid she would pulverize the already shoddy interior if she grabbed any harder, but she knew better than to say anything. Her mother's eyes were usually full of humor, but now all Riley could see was frustration and anger.

"So you've said," Riley said, biting her lip and looking out the window. The road was pretty empty as it grew darker outside.

"No, Riley, I am really going to _kill _him," her mom repeated, sighing. "And then I'll be the one in jail."

"You'd probably never forgive yourself," Riley offered.

"True," her mother commented, flipping her turn signal on forcefully, barely looking each way at a stop sign before jarring to the right. "But I still might try. So you'll have to get to me first."

"I see no other way to restrain you than to kill _you_. And then I'll be in jail...do you see how vicious this cycle becomes?" Riley asked in a mock bored tone.

"It does seem to spiral," her mother said, and Riley knew she was calming down, at least a little, because her dry sense of humor was still in tact. "I don't want matricide on your list of extracurriculars for college. So I suppose I'll have to settle with just death threats."

"On the teenager scale of impropriety, this does seem to be at least on the sunnier side of the list. You know, if you think about drugs and pregnancies, vandalism is not so bad," Riley tried to justify, fiddling with her seatbelt.

"Your brother knows better than to tag the side of a building."

"He thinks it's art," Riley argued, torn between defending her brother and angering her mother. "He's just trying to brighten things up a bit."

"He can brighten up his room. Smear the walls with paint for all I care," her mother said, making another sharp turn that caused Riley to slide in her seat. "But if I get another 9 o'clock phone call from the sheriff, there will be hell to pay."

"Okay," Riley grumbled, slouching in her seat. It was no use—Charlie was going to have to defend himself.

"At least I have you," her mother said, taking a deep breath. "My only well behaved child."

The words well behaved echoed through Riley's head. She grimaced. Okay, fine, she'd never been grounded or missed curfew, and she certainly had never been arrested, but she didn't want to sound so _boring_. Her brothers attracted mischief like magnets but she'd only acted out in shutting herself off, or dying the ends of her hair pink. She frowned again, this time at herself. Maybe she _was_ boring.

Her mother's forceful driving once again pulled her from her thoughts. This time, she whipped into a parking space at the police station, hitting the brakes and pulling Riley's body forward and backward with a jolt.

Riley's mother slammed the door shut so hard that Riley felt like she had to gingerly close hers to compensate. She fastened her messenger bad around her shoulders while her mother grabbed her purse with the same force as the steering wheel.

Riley followed at a distance.

Her mother didn't hold the door open for her and was already at the desk when Riley entered. Not really wanting to hear the subsequent conversation, Riley ducked into one of the chairs near the back wall.

She felt like she was in a hospital waiting room for some reason. The chair was hard and a little cold when her bare skin pressed against the metal legs.

Her mother shot her a grim look as the officer at the front desk took her through a door. Riley watched her dark bun disappear before turning her attention to the room. There was a bulletin board, probably full of wanted lists and notices, but she couldn't read it from here. There was a clock too, informing her it was 9:29, a stack of old magazines, Stiles, an old, broken desk, wait, Stiles?

She hadn't heard him come in, and he hadn't noticed her in the corner yet. He always seemed kind of jumpy or hyper, and now was no different. His hands were tapping a beat on his legs but he clamped them to his sides before deciding otherwise and shoving them in his pockets as he walked to the desk. He looked around for a moment, and finally caught her eye.

"Hi Stiles," Riley greeted with a small smile. They weren't really friends, but they'd gone to school together pretty much their whole lives.

"Riley! I didn't see you—what are you doing here?" he said, his eyebrows raised.

"I've decided to lead a life of crime," she grinned. "Arson, theft, the whole nine yards."

"I think you're on the wrong side of the bars for that story," Stiles said with a smirk. "Unless you're turning yourself in."

"You've seen through the plot holes," Riley sighed, pointing with her thumb toward the back. "I'm waiting for my _artistic_ brother..."

"Oh yeah, vandalizing. I heard something about that floating around." He scratched his neck with a frown and Riley hoped she hadn't made it uncomfortable. She'd try to play it off but it probably wasn't every day your family members got cuffed. Stupid Charlie and his inability to deface his own property instead of others.

"Are you waiting for your dad?" she asked, in hopes to diffuse the awkward silence.

"Yeah," he nodded. "He said he'd be five minutes, but that's usually a half an hour in sheriff time."

She nodded, knowing what that felt like. Her mother worked at the hospital, and when she got busy, she could go hours without answering her phone.

"Do anything interesting this Summer?"

Riley hated small talk, but she did like Stiles, so she tried to take it gracefully instead of her usual awkward way.

"I'm not gonna lie," Riley said, thinking of days spent with her best friend Piper watching Netflix all day. There was less than two weeks of Summer left, and she had pretty much squandered it. "This one got away from me."

Stiles chuckled, leaning against the wall next to her.

"You?" she asked.

"Oh...okay. You know, normal, considering."

"Considering what?" she asked, looking up at him.

Stiles eyes got wide for a moment. His hair had grown longer, she realized, and he wasn't quite as thin and awkward as he used to be. He swallowed and she watched his Adam's apple move before he spoke.

"Just, considering...you know, my life. Not that my life is abnormal," he added in a rush. " But it's good, the Summer was regular. Normal-_bland,_ even. On a scale of one to ten, a five."

"I get it," Riley laughed, cutting off his ramble. "You don't have to tell _me _it's boring around here."

"Oh, I don't know," Stiles said, licking his lips. His eyes suddenly had a distant look. "Maybe not as boring as you think."

Just as she was about to ask him what he meant, her mother emerged, a hunched over Charlie following her. He was easily a foot taller than her mother and her, but he didn't seem it right now. She could see the guilt down to his hunched spine.

"Come on Riley," her mother ordered, walking with purpose toward the door and ignoring the presence of Stiles altogether.

Charlie barely kept up with her, and Riley rose from her chair with a groan.

"Fun night ahead," she said, giving her waiting room buddy a small smile before running to match the sound of her mother's quick footsteps. "Bye Stiles."

"See you at school."

She turned back to give him a wave before departing.

* * *

The wall that Riley's bed was pushed against was a testament to her constantly fluctuating obsessions. They were plastered with faces of beautiful men she'd never meet, and bands she'd fallen in love with, and movies she could quote by heart. She collapsed in her unmade covers and wished she was in one of those fantasies because right now she was stuck in a tension filled house.

After Charlie was applauded by her other two brothers upon arrival, they'd all been banished from the living room because their mother was "sick of all of them" and needed a moment to herself.

Riley was about to pick up her phone and call Piper when the door to her room creaked open.

Charlie's head poked in. He had the Jacobs family jawline that skipped over Riley, and it was clenched when he walked in, running a hand through his reddish brown hair. It had gotten lighter over the Summer, and she sat up as he pushed it back and sat across from her.

"What's up jailbird?"

He glared at her, tucking a leg underneath himself.

"Too soon?" she asked.

"Riley, I want to tell you something."

"Did you meet someone in prison?"

"Riley," he said sharply, rolling his eyes. "Let me talk."

His tone was serious, and she heard a hitch in his voice that made her drop all sarcastic comments that came to her mind. His eyes were on his hands, where he was cracking his thin fingers.

"I saw something tonight," he said, not lifting his gaze. "Something...not normal."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice slow and curious.

"I saw these things when I was tagging the old bank." He paused. "They were like people, but not. They were like..._animals_."

Riley frowned. He was only in a holding cell, and only for an hour, but perhaps he'd received some sort of psychological damage. That would be the only explanation for her fearless brother to be talking like this.

"I think you've been sniffing too much spray paint," she said, leaning forward to feel his forehead. "Do you feel okay?"

"I'm serious Riley!" He batted away her hand. "I need someone to believe me. I can't go to Jake or Will, they'd laugh me out of the room."

Riley frowned. Jake and Will were her older brothers. She knew that Charlie sometimes felt like they didn't take him seriously, and she felt her older sister mode kicking in.

"Okay, okay," she said, rubbing the inside of her wrist. "What did you see exactly?"

"There was a man and a woman. They were standing on two feet and everything, except...something happened, I couldn't see what—and then they had fur. They were snarling and I started to leave, but their eyes were glowing. _Glowing_. And I dropped my spray paint and was going to run when a cop saw me."

"So they were like human hybrids or something?" Riley tried to ask with a straight face, urging herself not to sound too dismayed because Charlie was absolutely serious.

"I don't know," Charlie shook his head. "But they were _something_."

Riley opened her mouth, thinking of all the questions she had. Number one was if her brother had been hallucinating, but after that they fell in a spectrum from looks to motives. She couldn't really bring herself to ask them, because that would be admitting she believed it, and she was pretty sure Charlie was sleepwalking.

"Charlie—"

"—Is going to his room, where he will be grounded for two weeks and researching where he will be doing his upcoming community service."

Riley looked to her mother who was standing in the doorway. Her tone was not as forceful as before, but more on the tired side. She even managed a small, wry smile.

Charlie looked at Riley with desperation, before looking back to their mom. He shoved his hands in his black sweatshirt pockets with resignation.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Ri?"

"Definitely."

She watched her brother and her mom exit her room. Her stomach was twisting in worry. Was this is an elaborate prank? It read more Jake than Charlie, but that didn't mean that Jake hadn't put him up to it.

But...he looked too nervous to be lying. He'd never been a great actor, and she was sure he would have already broken if it was some sort of joke. Maybe he had seen something, but maybe he just wasn't sure what he had seen, and now his brain was playing tricks on him.

She sighed and settled back on her pillows.

Her mind was too alert now to sleep. She'd seen plenty of movies with mutants and monsters, but no one had ever claimed to see one in her town before. Especially not someone she trusted as much as her little brother.

She flipped on her side, biting her lip.

This was Beacon Hills. The last few years had certainly had more crime than she remembered from her childhood, but still. Everywhere had some danger.

_Maybe not as boring as you think._

Stiles' words echoed in her mind. This day had been more interesting than usual, that was for sure.

She reached across to her nightstand, switching off the lamp. Moonlight immediately filtered in her too thin blinds, illuminating a streak of light that bled from her window to the edges of her bedspread. She traced a bit with her finger, willing her mind to relax, but she didn't fall asleep for a long time.

* * *

**I am crazy.**

**Stop me.**

**But really, the life or death of this story depends on you.**

**Should I continue? Do you like it? I have some good plans. Reviews of all shapes, sizes, and colors accepted!**


	2. Chapter 2

**"As soon as there is life there is danger."**

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

* * *

After a night where her sleep resembled consciousness and her bed looked like a windstorm swept through it, Riley was tired. She splashed her face with cold water without looking in the mirror, and didn't bother getting dressed until she had some nourishment. Wishing she didn't have work that day, she practically crawled downstairs.

In a spurt of design inspiration, her mother had painted their kitchen walls a blinding turquoise color. With open windows and morning light, it hurt Riley's eyes, but she sucked it up and squinted as she entered.

She heard her brothers before she saw them. Riley knew their mom was out because of their loud voices. Jake and Will tended to turn it up a notch when the first floor was empty.

"Looking good, Ri," Jake said, looking up from the sink and grinning as she entered. He did a once over of her rumpled clothes and big hair. "Whole new image for the upcoming school year?"

"People always say we look alike." Riley gave him a sarcastic smile and hit his arm. "Lucky you."

"It's the hair," Will commented dryly from beside Jake, taking out a cereal box. "And the crazy eyes."

"You're twins, stupid," Riley said, rolling said crazy eyes. "If I look like Jake, by default I look like you."

"_Fraternal _twins," Will reminded. "Everyone knows I'm the more handsome one."

Riley snorted while Jake pulled Will into a headlock. She supposed he was right...Jake and Will had similarities, but they were definitely different. Jake was more muscular and athletic, his face was thinner, and his hair had more red in it. Will was lankier, with a more prominent nose and was trying to grow a beard these days.

"Is there anything to eat?" she asked, opening a cabinet as Will punched Jake in the ribs and he released him.

"Just barely," Jake said, extracting his bread from the toaster.

She sighed as Will ripped the top of the cardboard cereal box. He could never open the boxes right, so all of their Frosted Flakes and Cheerios ended up looking like an animal tore into them.

"Cereal," Will said, smiling sheepishly as a small burst of Honeycombs missed his bowl and landed on the counter.

Riley grabbed the box of Pop Tarts.

"Where's Charlie?" she asked, taking out a pack of the pastries. "Sleeping?"

"Mom is makem him do tha groffery shoffing," Jake said, his mouth full of toast.

"Huh?" Riley asked, too tired to be disgusted.

"Mom is making him do the grocery shopping," Will clarified, pouring his milk.

"Isn't that more of a punishment for us?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Probably." Will shrugged. "But he has to come back with _some_ sort of food."

"Do you know when he'll be home?" Riley asked, checking the clock. She had a half an hour to get to work and she wanted to talk to him before she left.

"Why are you so interested?" Jake asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "Are you a spy for mom?"

"No." Riley shifted her feet. She couldn't exactly say she wanted to see if her brother had recovered from what was possibly a small psychotic episode last night. Or that he had looked scared and nervous and talked of standing people-animal-type things. Or that she dreamed about supernatural beings. "I just wanted to see if he was...okay."

Jake didn't look convinced.

"He looked pretty miserable last night," Riley added, trying to make her voice sound firm.

"He's a little punk," Jake said, "But he's tough. Takes after me."

"Not a compliment," Riley said, shoving a pop-tart in her mouth. "Tell him to come to my room if he gets back before I leave."

"Alright, Ms. Suspicious!"

She spun around and left the kitchen, ignoring Jake's call. She really needed to work on her lying skills.

* * *

There were children running everywhere and Riley couldn't find a big enough aspirin to soothe her headache. She checked her watch—two more hours to go. Two more hours of screaming, snotty hell and she'd be able to go home and collapse onto the sofa, and if she was lucky, not move until the next day.

She wiped her forehead on her blue uniformed sleeve and caught the desperate eyes of her best friend.

"Play nicely!" she called out in vain, weaving through the crowd. "Pizza in five minutes!"

She reached Piper, who had rolled her sleeves up to her shoulders and had her pin straight hair in a ponytail. She fixed Riley with an expression that would have melted anyone else, but Riley had grown immune.

"Remind me again why people have children," Piper said, her scowl a permanent fixture within the confines of _The Party Zone_.

"So they can have their birthday parties at the oh-so-wonderful arcade and laser tag room we have?" Riley asked, gesturing to the space around her.

"Remind me again why _I_ work here."

"Because we are saving to go to Europe next Summer." Riley grinned brightly, but Piper's face remained unchanged.

"Remind me what's so great about Europe," she begged, pressing a hand to her forehead as a child let out a particularly loud wail.

"Adventure, history, food, culture..."

Piper peeked out from behind her hand.

"Accents!" Riley said, pointing her index finger in the air. "_Many_ accents. Cute boys with accents."

"Cute boys?" Piper murmured hopefully.

"With accents," Riley added, patting her shoulder.

"Fine." Piper rubbed her temples. "Okay. Just don't let that blonde one near me."

Riley laughed as she pointed to the birthday girl who was standing by the ball pit with her friends. She was all pigtails and wicked smiles.

"There's a reason we're friends," Riley grinned.

"Because I'm a meaner, half-Asian version of you?" Piper asked, batting her eyelashes.

"Something like that." Riley shook her head. Piper was honest, sometimes to a fault, but Riley could usually laugh along.

"So what happened to you last night?" Piper asked, walking toward the tables that they'd have to set the drinks up on. "You didn't answer my text."

"Sorry...let's just say Charlie was getting acquainted with the other side of the law."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning he was arrested for spray-painting a bank."

"Shut up!" Piper said, shoving her.

"Wish I could," Riley said, holding the arm she had pushed.

"Street art is so cool," Piper sighed, opening a bag of plastic cups. "It's such a shame no appreciates it."

"Yes, and one of those firm non-appreciators is my mother."

"So what happened?"

"Community service, as far as I know. My mom's friendly with the Sheriff so I'm sure he didn't put him on maximum security or anything," Riley joked.

Her mind suddenly flickered with her brother's worried face, telling her of what he'd seen. She didn't dare mention that to Piper—she'd just dismiss it immediately. Piper didn't exactly believe in gray areas.

"Not bad."

"I saw Stiles there," Riley said, thinking of how to get away from the subject.

"Oh?" Piper asked absentmindedly, spreading out cups in front of her.

"Yeah, he was..." Riley trailed off, wondering where she was going with this. "Nice."

"Okay," Piper said, looking at her with a strange expression. "Is there more to that story?"

"No...just reminded me of imminent doom of school."

Piper gave her a look somewhere between confusion and indifference, which was a feat only she could pull off. Riley really didn't know why she'd mentioned it. She was just trying not to think of her brother and that was the only other memory she had from yesterday.

She decided to change the subject.

"Do you want to hang out tonight?"

"I can't," Piper said, twisting off the cap to a jug of water. "Family Night."

"Ouch."

"You're telling me. My sister's going back to college and my parents thought it would be nice to have an evening all together."

"That sucks," Riley said, knowing how strict Piper's parents were. It was why she always resented being forced to do anything. "Don't they know that Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn't going to watch itself?"

"I've tried to tell them," Piper said, shaking her head. "But they just don't understand."

"Speaking of vampires and demons, it's time to call the children over for food," Riley said, checking her watch. "And just FYI, one hour and forty-four minutes left."

"Let's see if I can make it."

* * *

Riley stopped for dinner on the way home since her mother had the late shift at the hospital and she didn't trust Charlie's shopping skills. It was getting darker as she walked, and not for the first time, she wished she had a car.

With a grocery bag shoved into her messenger bag, the weight was digging into her left shoulder. She lifted it gingerly and settled it into a different area, speeding up her footsteps until she reached her street.

Her block had a row of trees on it. Her dad used to tell her that was why her mother had bought the house, because there would be shade for them in the sun, and it would be pretty to look at too. When they were touring the house, she sat on the window seat that showed the lane of branches perfectly if you angled yourself just right—and that's when she knew.

Riley looked up wistfully at the leaves. It was a story she used to roll her eyes at because her dad repeated it all the time. He used to tell them so many stories about her mom, she never saw the divorce coming. Now she saw him once a month and he didn't tell her any old stories, or much of anything at all.

Riley's shoulder sang in relief when she saw their brick house. It was like a few others on the street, but their door was a bright red that she always looked for when passing.

She was about to turn into her walkway when she heard a rustle.

Peering around, she didn't see anything. Just trees, flowers, and a few rocks. No birds or squirrels, but she supposed they must have just disappeared too quickly.

She took a step forward and heard something again. Her heart leaped a little this time, and she looked around for a second time. She thought she saw a dark shape moving near the side of her house.

Looking at her door, she debated. If it was someone, or something, they could reach her before she got there. But if they were scared of her, they wouldn't interfere if she ran for the door.

She stopped herself. This was not a television show, or a horror movie. She had been trained to jump to the worst circumstance when it was probably a small woodland creature.

But then she saw a shadow. A definite, large shadow, with whatever was casting it out of sight.

Pressure always gave her a muted sense of calm. It was something strange about her that her mother told her would make her an excellent doctor, if she was at all interested. Right now, Riley didn't feel like she was in control. She just felt like she needed to get inside.

Taking one last look, she held her bag in her hands and ran to the door.

With slightly sweaty palms and heavy breath, Riley wrenched open the door that one of her brothers had neglected to lock and shut it roughly behind her. The wood thumped loudly, a resounding noise that satisfied her quickened heart. Twisting the lock shut, she threw her bag on the floor and closed her eyes.

She breathed for a moment, just letting the oxygen filter in her lungs while her body returned to normal.

Gathering herself after a moment, she crept toward the window closest to the door. She pulled back a piece of the white curtain. It was gauzy fabric and wouldn't hide her, but hopefully...

_...there was nothing to hide from._

She shook her head. Nothing was there. No one was out there. She was just being fidgety because her stupid brother had put her on edge last night.

Bending her limbs a little and shaking off the feeling of being watched, Riley headed for the stairs.

She took two at a time and didn't bother knocking on his door.

"Charlie, I officially hate you!" she called, pushing the door open. "You've made me paranoid and it's dark out and I'm freaking out and-what are you doing?"

Charlie had paused with one hand on his backpack. He had Nikes on his feet and was dressed in all black.

Riley's hands found her hips on instinct.

"Where are you going?" Riley asked, noticing that Charlie looked like he'd slept about as much as her.

"I have to go back."

"I hope you're making a 'Lost' reference and not talking about what I think you mean," Riley said, feeling worry start to rise in the base of her chest.

"I have to see if they're still there. At the bank."

"And then what?" Riley asked. "What will you do if they are?"

"I don't know, but I have to see," Charlie said, shaking his head. "I feel like I'm going crazy. If I see it again, at least I know it's true."

Riley wanted to grab him and shake him. He was only fifteen years old, far too young to be doubting his mental state and sneaking out of the house.

"Please, Charlie," she said, lowering her voice. "I got dinner. You were just tired last night, you don't know what you saw."

"I do, Riley, that's just it..."

Riley switched tactics. Maybe she could scare him if she couldn't appeal to his better senses.

"If Mom finds out, you'll really be dead. Two weeks will seem like nothing. Do you want to be grounded for the rest of your life?"

"Mom won't be back until morning," Charlie argued, zippering his backpack shut before putting it on his shoulders. "And you won't tell her, either."

"Oh yeah?" Riley asked. "Why not?"

"Because you're coming with me."

* * *

**There isn't enough room here for all the virtual love I am sending you guys!**

**BIG THANKS to Just Lyndsey, XLostxinxWonderlandX314, Truth and Chaos, WNF, DitzyBrunette89, PhoenixRage92, OhBeClever, cheapxperfume and guests for reviewing!**

As a lovely guest pointed out, I have a thing for sarcastic characters so I can't write to include more of Stiles in this. Trust me, he's coming.

The story will be a little before/ during Season 3 by the way. :)

Keep being amazing!


	3. Chapter 3

Riley was wearing sweatpants and questioning her life choices, which was something that usually happened to her under vastly different circumstances. Patting her pockets to make sure she had her phone in case of emergency or death by supernatural perhaps hologram-like figures, she sighed and grabbed Jake's car keys.

He would kill her if she did anything to his precious Volkswagen, but she expected this to be a short trip.

"I don't know how you got me to say yes to this," Riley glowered, tapping her foot in annoyance. "And I don't know why it always takes you five years to get ready."

"Five years?" Charlie asked, stepping out of his room. "Dramatic much?"

"Shut up," Riley snapped, twisting the ties of her pants. Her hands were jittery, which meant her body was about to follow. Or really, it already was, but she was very much in denial about the lurch of her stomach.

"To answer your statement," Charlie said, zippering his backpack. "I have a very simple way to get you to do things."

"What's that?"

"Tell you you're too scared to do them."

"That's not true."

Sure, he had used that tonight. But she was really going to make sure he didn't get in more trouble, because her mother might actually have that first heart attack if there were two police phone calls in one week.

"It's very true," Charlie argued. "I think it's from having three brothers. You always want to be in on things."

"That's not true," Riley defended again, although she perhaps saw a ray of truth in it. But just a tiny one. Miniscule. "I just want to look out for you. And I'm a naturally curious person."

"Whatever you need to believe." Charlie snorted and started to walk away, missing Riley's late punch in his direction.

"I would like to argue this point a little more, Charles Jonathan—"

"Riley..." Charlie had slowed down and stopped near the window, letting her catch up.

"I am not as simple to read or convince like that, I happen to be very strong in my convictions—"

"Riley!"

"You know what, let's just go before I change my mind."

"Riley!"

Riley finally turned her attention to his face, which was not looking at her but out of the second story window near their stairs.

"What?" she asked, stepping beside him.

Charlie pointed downward and she put the tip of her nose to the glass. It was getting darker but she could see two figures near their side fence. One was gesturing wildly and the other seemed to be circling the perimeter. She narrowed her eyes and looked even closer before looking back at Charlie with a frown.

"Why are Stilinski and McCall in our backyard?"

* * *

"I can't believe we're walking around. We haven't just...walked around in a long time. Like normal people."

"I'm still normal, thank you very much," Stiles said, falling into step next to Scott. "And I happen to question why we're walking with no destination."

"It just feels nice to have nothing to do," Scott insisted.

"Yeah," Stiles said, trying to keep his voice cheerful. They walked for a few more seconds, Stiles looking around in every direction. There were just trees, and houses. "A little dull though, not gonna lie."

"Stiles!"

"What? Look, I can do without the danger we seem to attract lately, but—"

"Wait."

Scott had extended his hand to touch Stiles chest. Stiles stopped walking, watching Scott inhale sharply, his head swiveling toward the houses and opposite the street.

"See? I knew we couldn't take a normal walk," Stiles rubbed his head with an eyeroll, but Scott didn't seem to hear him. He was walking from the sidewalk toward a front door and Stiles jogged behind, tugging his shirt sleeve.

"What's the matter? Are your wolfy senses tingling?"

"Haven't I asked you to stop saying that?" Scott asked, looking back at Stiles with a scowl.

"Would you prefer wolfy ways? Wolf-intuition? Hyper-alert-wolf-mode?" Stiles grinned brightly, knowing the look he'd get.

"Shut up," Scott said, glaring at Stiles. "I smell something."

Stiles let his grin fall and looked around himself this time, although it was hardly any use. When your best friend has jacked up, amazing senses, sometimes it's best to just let them do the work.

"Can you be more specific?" Stiles didn't hear or see anything stirring.

"I smell..." Scott paused. "I think it's another werewolf."

Before Stiles had a chance to question that, Scott was walking around the brick house to the side yard, crouching and following the scent. Stiles looked around quickly and thankfully didn't see anyone looking before he ran after him.

"Sorry to point this out while you're sniffing the ground, but this is private property, and last I checked, we are trespassing," Stiles told Scott, his eyes still searching for neighbors. "While we could just explain we're checking for werewolves, it will probably be frowned upon by owners of said private property."

Stiles sighed as Scott ignored him. They'd stopped walking near a small row of bushes that looked to be planted recently, little white flowers poking out from underneath them. He looked farther down and could see the backyard beginning, an umbrella and set of white chairs visible in the darkening night.

"Why would there be one here?" Scott asked, mostly to himself. "It's not Derek or Isaac, I know their scents."

"You know, I've accepted what you can do, but it still creeps me out when you know people by smell." Stiles shivered, crossing his arms. "On an unrelated note, how do I smell?"

"Like roses," Scott said dryly, smiling sarcastically.

Stiles opened his mouth when he was cut off by another voice, making him jump in surprise.

"Stiles! Scott...what are you doing here?"

For some reason Stiles liked hearing his name first...and then he remembered he and Scott had no good reason to be in Riley or Charlie Jacob's backyard and they were looking at them like mental patients.

"We're uh...I sme—Stiles, why don't you tell her?"

Stiles sent Scott a look that he hoped conveyed the hatred he was feeling in that moment, and turned back to the siblings.

"We're doing..." Stiles trailed off, wracking his brain. "This thing. A...door to door survey. Questions, and stuff," he finished shakily.

"From the backyard?" Riley asked.

Stiles thought of all people, it just had to Riley...she was one of the smartest people in his grade. And he could just sense she would probably tell he was lying.

"We were just checking around," Stiles said, trying to tell the truth at least partially.

"What's the survey on?" Charlie asked, his hand curling around a backpack strap.

"Safety," Stiles said, his words becoming easier. "You know, since my dad is the sheriff and all."

"Okay..." Riley trailed off, looking expectant.

"Okay." Stiles felt relief filter though his body, loosening his limbs. Until Riley continued to look at him, of course.

"Are you going to ask us something?" She looked between him and Scott.

"Right," Scott said, nodding his head. "Well how um...safe do you feel?"

Stiles noticed Riley grin immediately, but her brother didn't seem so enthused.

"We're fine," Charlie replied, crossing his arms.

"Well, I_ thought_ we were safe. Impervious to danger, if you will. But then Scott got into the backyard," Riley added brightly, grinning at them.

Stiles laughed nervously but Scott tilted his head, looking at her.

"Do you do Word of the Day?"

"So really nothing?" Stiles cut Scott off, smacking his arm. "I'll report to my father all good here?" Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked between brother and sister.

He saw Riley give Charlie a strange look, but he quickly dropped her gaze and turned back to Stiles.

"Yeah," Charlie said, swallowing. "Good."

"Okay, we'll be on our way. Stay safe. Keep sharp," Stiles added lamely, giving them a thumbs up.

"Where are you guys headed?" Scott asked, watching Charlie fidget with his backpack zipper as they turned back toward the road.

"Our grandpa's," Charlie said, "He lives a few minutes away."

Stiles looked to Riley who had her eyes on the sky, apparently not paying attention.

"Oh cool," Scott said, narrowing his eyes. "See you later, then."

Riley gave a half-hearted wave that told Stiles she perhaps wasn't as oblivious as she seemed, and Charlie nodded as they started to walk toward their driveway. Scott and Stiles cut across the grass to the sidewalk, looking back only once as the car doors slammed shut on both sides.

Stiles was about to open his mouth and discuss the absolute awkwardness of the situation and why the hell a werewolf would be around here when Scott spoke first.

"Stiles, go get your car and meet me where I tell you." Scott's voice was firm and his eyes were fixed on the Volkswagen peeling out of the driveway.

"What? Why?"

"I don't want to lose them."

"And why are you following them?" Stiles asked, wondering if Scott had lost it.

"Because they're lying."

* * *

Riley was pretty sure that was one of the most awkward interactions of her life, but she was actually thankful for it because for one minute she forgot what they were doing. Of course, strange boys in her backyard quickly took a backseat to searching for monsters, and her nerves started all over again as Charlie gave her directions from the passenger seat.

They reached the bank before she had time to properly think of how she could get Charlie to give this up. She parked a block away from it and didn't have time to speak before Charlie was out of the door. Pulling the keys out, she sighed. He was never one to dawdle.

With a groan that sounded more like a whimper, Riley got out of the car and shut the door as quietly as possible.

"Charlie!" she hissed. Her brother had seemingly lost his fear and was darting ahead without her. "Wait!"

He slowed for a moment, letting her catch up before continuing his quick pace.

They reached the front of the old bank. It was almost completely dark now and Riley felt like she wouldn't see what she was looking for even if she wanted to. She was also wishing she'd worn a sweater as the night was increasing the wind around them.

She couldn't see any people though, just old stones and doors.

"Charlie I don't think—" she turned to face her brother, and saw him unzipping his backpack. He had a flashlight in his mouth, and the beam shined on the metal inside.

Riley felt her anger begin, a tight feeling in the middle of her chest that would probably burst in the next minute.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was slow and pointed.

"Finishing my piece." Charlie moved the flashlight to his hand and shrugged at Riley's wide eyes.

"Are you the world's biggest idiot?" she asked, striding forward and smacking the back of his head.

"Ow!" Charlie hissed, rubbing his neck. "I'm almost done with it!"

"Let's put aside the fact that you could get arrested again for just one second," Riley spewed, her hands moving wildly. "If what you think you saw is really what you saw, do you think continuing this is a good idea?"

"They're not here. They won't want someone to see them again."

"So you used your little scared act to get me to drive you here? I thought you really wanted to make sure this place was empty!"

"I did! And I see that it is..."

"You have a backpack of spray paint, I know that was your first priority!"

"Look at it, Riles," Charlie said, shining a flashlight on the side of the building.

She saw half of a lion's face staring down at her. It was good work, with all the blended browns and yellows, but her headache was starting. She shut her eyes, willing herself to be somewhere else.

"I think I'm going to make the other half a wolf," Charlie said, his voice thoughtful.

"You know what?" Riley asked, throwing her hands in the air. "You can walk home."

Just as she was about to turn and head to her car, she felt a pressure on her back. She was thrust forward, her face scratching against the stone wall in an instant. It was cool and rough and it took the air out of her lungs. She heard Charlie's paint cans fall against the concrete.

She could feel a hand on her neck, keeping her from turning her head. It was strong—causing an ache in her muscles that was only forgotten when she had the sudden urge to vomit. She could see Charlie's face next to her, contorted in confusion and fear, fingers coiling around his thin neck.

She started debating ways of pushing backward and saving Charlie when a low voice growled in her ear.

"Don't come back here."

The voice was low and guarded, and she actually thought her bones shook. Before anything else was said, the hands released them and Riley let out a breath of air that turned into a choke. She reached out and pulled Charlie to her, both of them shaking as they turned around.

She swiveled her head in all directions, but she didn't see a thing.

* * *

Sorry for the wait!

Thanks so much to WNF, taytayfanatical, and lucawindmover for reviewing.

Hope more people give feedback this time!


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